Inspection Detail

Inspection: 126119478 - Otto Palmer Dba O P Construction Co

Inspection Information - Office: Los Angeles District Office

Investigation Summary

At approximately 10:00 a.m. on May 7, 2004, Employee #1, a day laborer, was working at a construction site for a single family residence with about six coworkers. Employee #1's supervisor assigned him to earthwork duties, which entails back-filling an area with compacted dirt. Around half of the residence there was a 6-feet high face cut excavation. The supervisor instructed Employee #1 to compact the soil between a 5-feet high concrete wall and a 6-feet high face cut excavation. This area was approximately 4-feet wide and 30-feet long. While Employee #1 compacted the dirt with a tamper, the supervisor operated a Bobcat loader with an extended arm to bring dirt over to the wall. The dirt was muddy and wet, due to the supervisor who had watered it beforehand. As the supervisor picked up a bucket-full of wet dirt and maneuvered towards the wall, he made a sharp right turn to avoid some rebars and became unstable. The loader got stuck and tilted towards Employee #1, striking him with the bucket. The supervisor and the coworkers attempted to move the loader with no success. When this didn't work, they used lumber to pry the bucket up and alleviated some of the weight from Employee #1. Emergency services were called and Employee #1 was transported to Little Company of Mary Hospital where, he was hospitalized and underwent surgery to repair a broken left femur. He was released five days later. The accident investigation revealed that Employee #1 had only been hired two days prior the accident. Additionally, he did not receive any safety orientation or safety instruction, warning him of possible dangers when working close to a Bobcat loader.

Keywords: FRACTURE, PINNED, CONSTRUCTION, CRUSHED, MANUAL MAT HANDLING, LOADER, STRUCK BY, LEG, UNSTABLE LOAD